1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to eyeglass retainers used to secure a pair of eyeglasses to the head of the wearer. In particular, the invention relates to an improved eyeglass retainer that grips the temples of the eyeglass more securely.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art various retainers for eyeglasses have been advanced which hold eyeglasses through the use of a band around the head. Theses devices have worked well in many instances but sometimes fail to be both comfortable and securely hold the eyeglasses in position for use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,604 discloses the current basic state of the art eyeglass retainer which is comfortable and securely holds the eyeglasses in position. This patent discloses the use of a unitary piece of a foam material which has been formed into tubes at both ends. The inner portion of the tubes is lined with an elastic woven material. The tubes grip the temples of the eyeglass retainer through an action similar to a "chinese finger trap" wherein a tension placed on the tube will tighten it down or tend to make it of smaller diameter, while compression will tend to extend it. However, this eyeglass retainer becomes less effective when the circumference of the temples of the eyeglass being held is reduced, such as in wire rimmed eyeglasses. Since the inner circumference of the tubes is fixed, this eyeglass retainer has the disadvantage of working effectively on a small range of sizes of temples. If the circumference of the inside of the tube is reduced, then the retainer will not fit easily or at all onto eyeglasses with large temples.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,481,946 illustrates a neck retainer for eyeglasses which has a small tubular member attached to a fabric strap which fits around the neck, and holds the glasses in position when the eyeglasses are actually off. The strap is to hold the glasses in place around a person's neck, rather than retain the glasses in a position during use.
A similar device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,704,961 where a neck strap is utilized for retaining the eyeglasses in position when the eyeglasses are removed from the face and are supported around the neck.
A device for retaining eyeglasses comprising members that are designed to replace the normal eye supported bow pieces is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,819,738. In this patent, short temple pieces are utilized and an elongated band that fits around the back of the head is made of a resilient material and is fastened to the temples through tubular connectors. Suitable adjustment devices may be utilized with the eyeglass support, ant thus used to hold the eyeglasses in position on the face during use.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,450,467 illustrates an eyeglass retainer that grips the eyeglasses and attaches to the temple pieces or bows of the eyeglasses to hold the eyeglasses in position. A neck strap for supporting eyeglasses when removed is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,879,804 which illustrates a band that clips onto eyeglasses or goggles and will grip the eyeglasses or goggles through a tightening loop connection. A similar type device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,776.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,502,396 illustrates a non-stretch adjustable eyeglass holder that fits behind the head during use and has a series of holes for a fastener that provides for adjustment of the length of the strap after the strap has been attached to the temples of the eyeglasses.
Other patents that disclose eyeglass retainers include U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,539,922, 4,657,364, 4,541,696 and 4,793,702. In the later patent the the inventors allege that by using a tape to form the tubes of the eyeglass retainer disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,604, the tubes allegedly grip the temples of the eyeglass more securely than tubes made with a sewn seam.
None of the prior art patents disclose a comfortable eyeglass retainer that can securely grip many different sized temples of the eyeglasses with nearly equal strength.